Reconciliation in Buddhism
In the Buddhist tradition, the sense of being reconciled to and with the truth can be denoted by the Sanskrit word yukta, a past participle from the verb that means to be yoked or joined, as with oxen to a plow, and which forms the basis of the term yoga. Other dictionary connotations of yukta include:
By this, we see that the Sanskrit term yukta is defined in many of the the same ways that the English term “reconcile” is defined. For example, one who is yukta or “yoked” to the process and/or experience of awakening perceives natureless phenomena in the proper way, makes use of and engages with this way of perceiving that they are already endowed with, becomes experienced in and familiar with it, and conforms or adapts how they experience everything. In other words, they become fully reconciled to and with the naturelessness of what they perceive.
The term yukta is found in, among other places, the original Sanskrit passages from which the Heart Sutra, perhaps the best-known scripture in all of the Buddhist tradition, was derived. The Heart Sutra, as well as the well-known Diamond Sutra, are examples of what in Sanskrit are called prajñā-pāramitā texts. These texts focus on uncovering our natural understanding (prajñā) as to what we experience. The term prajñā is usually translated as “wisdom” which, to the extent it is defined as “the ability to use knowledge and experience to make good decisions and judgments”, is rather different from the experience of awakening. Instead, I suggest it is a matter of applying only what we know (-jñā), without delusions, toward (pra-) the phenomena we experience, by which we fully understand what they are (and are not). For example, rather than assuming or inferring that a frying pan or a stoplight has a nature or essence, we can know and understand that each is simply an intangible image that we have mentally created.
Further, uncovering this natural understanding is associated with awakening (pāramitā). This Sanskrit word is a combination of pāram- (which means “the further bank or shore” of awakening) and the suffix -itā (which can mean endowed, afflicted or associated with). The term pāramitā is often translated as “perfection”, which implies there is something (such as “wisdom”) that can be purified or brought to perfection, which is not the case. Instead, we only need to uncover a natural understanding of what is happening that we already have as, both a means to awakening and as a description of what experience is like once awake. In both of these senses, uncovering that understanding is associated with awakening. We therefore aspire to uncover the awakened understanding (prajñā-pāramitā) that we already have. By this, the so-called “Perfection of Wisdom” (as prajñā-pāramitā is typically rendered) scriptures might be more accurately called the “Awakened Understanding” scriptures.
Depending on the translation of the Heart Sutra, a key passage of this scripture is often translated as “form is emptiness, emptiness is form”, and there can be the assertion that, in emptiness, there are neither eyes nor ears, nor are there colors or sounds. What exactly this all means, and therefore how to use the Heart Sutra, can be difficult to discern. For example, for there to be no such thing as an eye or an ear, are we to enter into the “empty abiding” where this is temporarily true, or are we to have such experiences in daily life by which we don’t recognize anything at all?
Or, is there another way to translate and thus understand the Heart Sutra?
As it turns out, the core of the Heart Sutra has been shown by Jan Nattier to have been created by first extracting a handful of selected passages from the so-called “Large Sutra”, a truly massive prajñā-pāramitā text, translating those passages into Chinese, and then translating them back into Sanskrit. Fortunately, the original Sanskrit version of not just those extracted passages but also the surrounding text as well is available, by which we can explore whether the intended meaning was lost in translation or was otherwise obscured by extracting only certain passages.
I suggest that, as a result of extracting only certain passages from a particular section of the Large Sutra, what is presented in the Heart Sutra has been taken out of context and therefore has lost a good deal of its intended meaning, making it prone to mistranslation and misinterpretation. Among other things, the extracted passages do not contain the term or concept of yukta, which is in fact the central theme of the corresponding section of the Large Sutra. It might therefore be said that the Heart Sutra needs to be reconciled with its source. I believe that being able to read the text which surrounds the extracted passages provides helpful and even necessary context to understand what the Heart Sutra is trying to tell us.
What follows is a translation of and commentary on the particular section of the Large Sutra from which the Heart Sutra was extracted. A full translation of that section is also provided at the end.
- proper, right, established, proved
- furnished or endowed with
- made use of, employed, occupied with, engaged in
- experienced in or familiar with something
- conformed or adapted one's self to
By this, we see that the Sanskrit term yukta is defined in many of the the same ways that the English term “reconcile” is defined. For example, one who is yukta or “yoked” to the process and/or experience of awakening perceives natureless phenomena in the proper way, makes use of and engages with this way of perceiving that they are already endowed with, becomes experienced in and familiar with it, and conforms or adapts how they experience everything. In other words, they become fully reconciled to and with the naturelessness of what they perceive.
The term yukta is found in, among other places, the original Sanskrit passages from which the Heart Sutra, perhaps the best-known scripture in all of the Buddhist tradition, was derived. The Heart Sutra, as well as the well-known Diamond Sutra, are examples of what in Sanskrit are called prajñā-pāramitā texts. These texts focus on uncovering our natural understanding (prajñā) as to what we experience. The term prajñā is usually translated as “wisdom” which, to the extent it is defined as “the ability to use knowledge and experience to make good decisions and judgments”, is rather different from the experience of awakening. Instead, I suggest it is a matter of applying only what we know (-jñā), without delusions, toward (pra-) the phenomena we experience, by which we fully understand what they are (and are not). For example, rather than assuming or inferring that a frying pan or a stoplight has a nature or essence, we can know and understand that each is simply an intangible image that we have mentally created.
Further, uncovering this natural understanding is associated with awakening (pāramitā). This Sanskrit word is a combination of pāram- (which means “the further bank or shore” of awakening) and the suffix -itā (which can mean endowed, afflicted or associated with). The term pāramitā is often translated as “perfection”, which implies there is something (such as “wisdom”) that can be purified or brought to perfection, which is not the case. Instead, we only need to uncover a natural understanding of what is happening that we already have as, both a means to awakening and as a description of what experience is like once awake. In both of these senses, uncovering that understanding is associated with awakening. We therefore aspire to uncover the awakened understanding (prajñā-pāramitā) that we already have. By this, the so-called “Perfection of Wisdom” (as prajñā-pāramitā is typically rendered) scriptures might be more accurately called the “Awakened Understanding” scriptures.
Depending on the translation of the Heart Sutra, a key passage of this scripture is often translated as “form is emptiness, emptiness is form”, and there can be the assertion that, in emptiness, there are neither eyes nor ears, nor are there colors or sounds. What exactly this all means, and therefore how to use the Heart Sutra, can be difficult to discern. For example, for there to be no such thing as an eye or an ear, are we to enter into the “empty abiding” where this is temporarily true, or are we to have such experiences in daily life by which we don’t recognize anything at all?
Or, is there another way to translate and thus understand the Heart Sutra?
As it turns out, the core of the Heart Sutra has been shown by Jan Nattier to have been created by first extracting a handful of selected passages from the so-called “Large Sutra”, a truly massive prajñā-pāramitā text, translating those passages into Chinese, and then translating them back into Sanskrit. Fortunately, the original Sanskrit version of not just those extracted passages but also the surrounding text as well is available, by which we can explore whether the intended meaning was lost in translation or was otherwise obscured by extracting only certain passages.
I suggest that, as a result of extracting only certain passages from a particular section of the Large Sutra, what is presented in the Heart Sutra has been taken out of context and therefore has lost a good deal of its intended meaning, making it prone to mistranslation and misinterpretation. Among other things, the extracted passages do not contain the term or concept of yukta, which is in fact the central theme of the corresponding section of the Large Sutra. It might therefore be said that the Heart Sutra needs to be reconciled with its source. I believe that being able to read the text which surrounds the extracted passages provides helpful and even necessary context to understand what the Heart Sutra is trying to tell us.
What follows is a translation of and commentary on the particular section of the Large Sutra from which the Heart Sutra was extracted. A full translation of that section is also provided at the end.